Pete's Dragon DVD Review

What if your imaginary friend wasn’t imaginary? The people of Passamaquoddy think Pete is bad luck, but it’s really Elliott his invisible dragon friend who’s causing all the trouble! Check out Kidzworld’s review of the classic Disney film, Pete’s Dragon.

Orphan On The Run

Pete is an orphan who was adopted for slave labor by the mean-spirited Gogan family. He flees the abusive family with the help of his invisible dragon Elliott and the two travel to the seaside town of Passamaquoddy where they’re taken in by Nora and Lampie—the kind-hearted lighthouse keeper and her kooky father.

Invisible Troublemaker

Trouble quickly arises when the townspeople start blaming Pete for Elliott’s mischief . Elliott keeps turning invisible, so Nora and most of the community don’t believes Pete when he claims Elliott is real. To top if all off, it’s not long before the Gogans arrive in town to try to reclaim Pete. It’ll take a little faith and the power of friendship to overcome the Gogans, convince the town that Elliott is real and eventually find Pete a proper place in Passamaquoddy.

Awesome Animation

Nowadays animation and live-action are mixed through CGI like in the Garfield or Scooby Doo movies, but back in the 1977 melding hand-drawn characters with real life people was all the rage. Animator Don Bluth skillfully integrates Elliott into the scene and after a while you really do start to believe he’s interacting with the actors.

Special Features

The coolest part about Pete’s Dragon is obviously the mix of animation and live-action film. Brazzle Dazzle Effects: Behind Disney’s Movie Magic is a 25 minute documentary that details the history of Disney’s mix of live-action and animation and it’s narrated by Sean Marshall, the actor who played Pete. Also included are a Deleted Storyboard Sequence called “Terminus & Hoagy Hunt” that lets you listen to a rare dialogue track as you view some original storyboard sketches and Original Demo Recordings of Razzle Dazzle Day, Every Little Piece and The Greatest Star Of All.

Pete's Dragon Rating:

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